A very real threat to peace and stability Somehow, unnoticed, a real threat to harmony and order in society has arisen quietly and unobserved. It''s been going on for a while, but the pressure is building and it seems on the brink of explosion.
Judging by situations and events taking place, every single day on our streets and by a highly publicised event in recent weeks, Namibians seem to be ready to act, taking the law into their own hands when it comes to bad, inconsiderate and plain selfish driving on our roads.
As with a lot of things in society, as always, it is a small minority of unaware, not interested, downright lawless individuals, with complete disregard for fellow citizens that seem to be the cause of this.
Be that as it may, it does not change anything from the reality that ordinary law abiding citizens are fed up the hilt of this on-going, diabolical situation that if anything, is getting worse by the day.
Of course, we have to acknowledge and say thank you to law enforcement agencies for doing a very difficult job. Your actions for instance during this past weekend and previous weekends are worthwhile, but unfortunately, way too passive for what we are dealing with and the potential results of what is at stake, if it is left to deteriorate any further.
We need to educate drivers about the massive responsibility of being in control of a vehicle and even more importantly, when carrying passengers, whose lives and livelihoods are dependent on their actions. If this educational process means massive, continuous fines, impounding of vehicles or time behind bars, then so be it. The results, if unchecked, could very easily turn into widespread public disorder, as we have already started to witness on a small scale.
This is about law enforcement and changing the attitudes of rogue drivers, because the single biggest cause for bad driving – is disregard for rules of the road and the “couldn''t care less about consequences, nothing will happen to me” attitude – because of lack of law enforcement agencies to enforce the law.